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The process of collecting and processing used materials and turning them into new products.

No tanglers: plastic shopping bags, plastic film, wires, strings, hoses, electrical cords

No soggy or soiled paper products like tissues, paper towels, paper plates

No shredded paper

No disposable cups or dining waste

No “clamshell” plastic containers

No Styrofoam

No plastic food wrappers and other food waste

Yes, for student move-in we set up cardboard collection stations near dorm trash sites to encourage recycling.  We also provide recyclable paper bags for collection in dorm rooms and informational doorhangers on recycling.  For student move-out, we set up donation stations for students to donate reusable items to the community.  Pictured below is what a station may look like:

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No. Hands down, recycling is better for the environment. It takes double the amount of energy to manufacture new materials than it does for recycled materials. Plus, it is less wasteful than sending material to a landfill to be buried or burned. If you buy products with “Recycled Content” you are encouraging the recycling process.

Technological advancements have been made at material recovery facilities to sort materials onsite including: magnets, electrical currents, and even lasers.

To avoid contamination, any food and liquid remaining in containers must be rinsed and cleaned out.

Republic Services empties our recycling dumpsters and transports our recycling to a material recovery facility in New Castle, DE. Our recyclables are given to the pre-sorters first, where they sort material as it enters the facility from the drop-off warehouse. There are long lines of conveyor belts that are equipped with human sorters. Towards the end of the conveyor-belt process, optical sorters use infrared light on recyclables that they are programmed to sort. They also have a fast-moving, robotic arms to pick out aluminum and PET plastic. Mixed paper and cardboard are sorted by screening and by hand. Other metals are sorted out by magnets, while glass is sorted through a separate system. Once all materials are processed and baled, they are picked up or distributed to manufacturers that recycle or market recyclables.